Scioscia explains the Kazmir bust to the Big Apple

Two days after the Angels placed left-hander Scott Kazmir on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release, Angels manager Mike Scioscia on Friday candidly discussed the frustrating and perplexing struggles of the pricey pitcher who hadn't manage to regain his All-Star form.

He laid out the situation before the Angels-New York Mets game for the New York media. It was the Mets who drafted Kazmir in 2002 in the first round, 15th overall.

“I don't know if I've seen a pitcher whose skills just evaporated as it did for Scott, …” Scioscia said. “I haven't seen anybody work harder to get his stuff back as Scott did. He was in the minor leagues. He was taking his bullpens.

“He was trying to bring every resource he could to see if it was mechanical. He'd go out there and long toss 240 feet and if he's able to do that, your arm can't be hurting. We got him on the mound and the motion just wasn't there for him to do it. That, I think, was the frustrating part. I really felt for Scott.

Kazmir, 27, a 2006 and 2008 All-Star with Tampa Bay, posted a 3.51 ERA and 742 strikeouts in 689 2/3 innings for the Rays between 2005 and 2008, including a league-high 239 strikeouts in 2007. He joined the Angels in August 2009 and went 2-2 with a 1.73 ERA in six starts.

“We thought going into 2010 that having the full year with him would have a big impact on our staff,” Scioscia said. “He came in with a pulled hamstring into camp and was set back a little bit. The stuff never reappeared.”

In 2010, he was 9-15 with a 5.94 ERA.

This season, Kazmir made just one Angels start, retiring just five of 14 batters in Kansas City on April 3 before going on the disabled list with lower back stiffness. He spent a month in extended spring training then went on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake, where he had a 17.02 ERA in five starts.

“He couldn't even find it whether it was pitching in extended spring training against kids or teenagers or Triple-A,” Scioscia said. “He couldn't find it for an extended period of time. It's been a while. He didn't throw a ball well at all in spring training for us.”

On Tuesday, in front of Angels general manager Tony Reagins and senior advisor Bill Stoneman, he went only 1 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on five hits, three walk and a hit batter.

“This guy put everything he had into it,” Scioscia said. “Unfortunately, this week it just got to be where he was still sliding backwards instead of making progress.”

The Angels will owe Kazmir about $9.5 million, which is his prorated remainder of his $12 million salary for this season plus a $2.5 million buyout for 2012. In total, the Angels will have paid about $24.5 million for Kazmir's one month of quality pitching.

Could another team be in his future?

“I think there's still talent in there, and I'm sure he can get another shot somewhere,” Scioscia said. “Hopefully, as this clears out, he can just kind of reboot. Hopefully, he'll have success. We're pulling for him. This guy really, really, really put everything he had (into working) and was as frustrated as any player that I've seen about where his stuff went.”

-- Reporting from New York

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